Blonch

While the Health Care Reform debate rages and Congress inches closer to passing something, now would be a good time to review other areas in which our government has strongly encroached or outright took over. These experiences should tell us something about how likely things will turn out well in the long run.

Military – OK, in the beginning the American colonies had no standing military. We had a bunch of colonists with weapons that were willing to be organized into militias as needed. The idea of the militia was that it would only be called up if there was a real threat or problem. Militiamen were, after all, working stiffs — farmers, smiths, businessmen — and their families relied on them for support. This basic underlying concept kept the militia from being used for frivolous uses, as each member had to individually choose whether the “cause” was more important that their own family.

With the American Revolution behind us, the US Congress formed the United States Army to replace the Continental Army formed just prior to the war. Now we had a standing army that made being a soldier a job. Soldiers got training, got paid, and got put to work doing all sorts of tasks both important and trivial. Eventually, too much training and not enough opportunities to use it get to be too much and “suddenly” there is a conflict that requires military intervention. Think of it, since the Declaration of Independence the US armed forces were involved in 289 wars, skirmishes, or other deployments according to Wikipedia’s count.

George Carlin used to joke that the US couldn’t do alot of things well, but we could blow stuff up pretty good. Seems like with government control of the military they’ve had alot of practice. (And I won’t even get into the costs aspect of this, with $200 hammers and $10,000 toilets…)

Oh, and 233 years later the soldier/militiaman going off to serve still puts an economic strain on the family left behind – that much still has not changed.

Postal Service – The US Post Office actually pre-dates the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin served as the first Postmaster General, which was until 1971 a Cabinet position. Typically, this Cabinet post was granted to a party loyalist and the PMG was in charge of granting political favors on behalf of the party. Closer to the present, some of us can recall how this virtual monopoly on mail delivery resulted in lackluster service and bureaucratic nonsense. When UPS and Federal Express established themselves as viable alternatives, the Post Office began trying to run more efficiently (or as efficiently as a government-run organization could). Still, they remain mired in cost overruns and service reductions. Indeed, if you want your package to get somewhere quickly then the Post Office is the last place you’d want to go – you’d rather depend on the private companies than the government-run option.

Social Security – The original Social Security Act passed in 1935 was intended to provide a safety net for the elderly, disabled, survivors, and unemployed. The basic concept was that a worker would pay a little money over the course of his/her career, and could draw from that money upon retirement etc. While some people would end up drawing more out than they put in, on the whole most folks would end up contributing more (especially when considering the potential for compounded interest.) Unemployment benefits have since migrated out of the program, but the balance is basically the same as it was under FDR’s New Deal.

Over time the government realized that they had a bunch of cash sitting in a pile that wasn’t being used (yet), so they started dipping into it. Via accounting and legislative “shennanigans,” the US Congress has basically turned this promising New Deal program into a legal Ponzi scheme. Periodically over the past 30 years we hear outcries about “fixing Social Security” because it’s running out of money. It’s hard to see how those of us still in the workforce can plan on receiving these benefits when we retire, yet that’s still what the Congress claims will happen. I’m not looking forward to finding out…

There are other examples for sure, but an underlying theme shown here is consistent with almost all of them. Too much government control is not a Good Thing. A lesson for the Health Care Reform efforts, to be sure.

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Insurance by pigo